


i know about 97 better ways to say i love you

by shintarokokonose



Category: Kagerou Project, Mekakucity Actors
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Post-Summertime Record, Slow Build, harushin, here it is the big multichapter, i'll update tags and stuff as i go
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-11
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2019-03-30 00:15:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13938501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shintarokokonose/pseuds/shintarokokonose
Summary: "but no matter how you say it, it still means the same"-------------------------------------[post-str] Haruka comes back from the daze and moves in with Shintaro, and while a bit of awkwardness was to be expected, they're in for a much bigger ride than they signed up for.





	i know about 97 better ways to say i love you

**Author's Note:**

> Oof okay after a lot of editing and rewriting here's chapter one! It starts off kinda slow and this chapter's a little bit uneventful and mostly exposition but Tono is there if that's any consolation. Also shout-out to my buddy @IcyRain_Hollows for helping me out with editing!! If you like Overwatch and also Lesbians go read their stuff it's super pretty.
> 
> Anywho, with that outta the way, I hope you enjoy. 'w`

“Well, here we are.”

The lights flickered and buzzed with an incessant whirring. Removing his shoes as he stepped in, soft fibers welcomed a friend long-awaited. It took him a moment to take it all in; the dark colored walls and the dim lighting were quite the shift from the bright sunset outside, and the even brighter world he had come from. The curtains were drawn, but the boy could still make out the quaint living room setup. A couch situated in front of a standard coffee table, in front of a small flat screen television, atop a mini dresser of sorts. The coffee table had small faint circles on it from years of wear, and all of the surfaces were dusty and stiff. It was considerably cozy.

“It’s nice,” Haruka breathed out.

“I mean, I haven’t really cleaned up in a while, so it’s a bit messy, but uh… welcome,” Shintaro gestured awkwardly to the living space.

The pair had just arrived back at his apartment after a long afternoon of sorting things out, of who was going where at the end of the day. It was decided that Ayano and Takane would stay with Ayano’s younger siblings in their “secret base” for the time being, and that, not wanting to make their home more cramped than it needed to be, Haruka would stay with Shintaro. When the question came up, he had graciously offered his newly returned friend a place to live in his tiny abode. For that, Haruka was very grateful.

Shintaro rubbed the back of his neck, “So, uh, living room’s here, kitchen over there, bathroom’s down the hall to the left there, and my bedroom is at the end of the hall.”

“Mm, thank you.”

“Do you want help carrying your bags—or, I guess… bag,” he trailed off.

“Heh, it’s fine, I think I can handle it.”

Coming back from the heat haze, Haruka wasn’t able to salvage much of his belongings. Well, really, he didn’t exactly have much to begin with, except for maybe clothes, but luckily most of his personal belongings were neat and snug in his school bag from two years prior. He didn’t bother with heading back to his old home with his father to retrieve anything else; it was all most likely gone anyway. Both he and his father knew his time was coming, so Haruka’s death was probably no surprise to him. His son coming back from the dead, however, would most likely be a bit jarring.

_He never really spent a lot of time paying attention to me, anyway, so I don’t see any point in going back… besides, it’d be a hassle to try and explain the whole “white abyss medusa snake surrogate life” thing to him._

Time earlier that day was already spent dwelling over all of that, though, so Haruka pushed the thoughts aside. Instead, he turned back to Shintaro.

“So, you really got your own place, huh?”

“I mean. Yeah.”

“It’s pretty cozy.”

“Eh, cramped is more like it, a lot smaller than back home with mom and Momo, but it works I guess.”

“I could see that, yeah,” he said quietly. Though it wasn’t the same house he visited his friend at in high school, it still felt familiar. Maybe it was just because the whole place looked like Shintaro’s old room, with the dark coloration and the lack of any decoration, sitting on the line between just messy enough to look lived in, and just dusty enough to look abandoned.

“… So!” His friend interrupted the silence, “I have a guest room but it’s kind of messy right now, so you can stay in my room. I’ve got an extra futon and probably another blanket somewhere, if that’s okay.”

“Oh, yeah that sounds pretty good, thank you.”

“I’ll try to have the other room cleared out by the end of the week and we can get you, like, a real bed or something.”

Haruka chuckled, “its fine, there’s no rush, I don’t mind sharing a bedroom with you. If anything I’m really grateful. I’m sorry to impose like this…”

Shintaro blinked in mild confusion, “R-Really it’s okay! You don’t have to apologize or anything, I said you could stay over, so. Besides, like hell I was going to let you just wander the streets alone or something.”

The other hummed and nodded politely, and was then led to the room in question to unpack. Shintaro got out the spare mattress and placed it on the floor against the wall next to his own bed, and dug through his closet for a blanket. All the while, Haruka was bombarded with questions, _can I get you anything? Do you need a drink? Are you cold?_ ; all of which he kindly responded to with reassurance that he was doing just fine.

The rest of the apartment that he’d seen thus far filled him with feelings of familiarity, but the bedroom in particular hit him with a powerful nostalgia. The bed, the closet, even the computer setup somehow all seemed to be in almost the same arrangement as his old room. Slowly sitting down on the edge of his friend’s mattress, he gazed around the room.

Perhaps a lot of things had changed in the two years he was gone, but plenty of other things still stayed the same. That room was one thing he was glad hadn’t changed, and he found comfort in the fact that he was allowed to stay there now, indefinitely.

 

\-------------------------------------------------------

 

Rummaging frantically through the closet, Shintaro desperately searched for a spare blanket. He wanted to tell himself that Haruka probably didn’t mind the wait, but he just couldn’t get himself to relax. Maybe it was that he was still riled up from earlier that day, but regardless of the reason, the anxiety was almost unbearable. An uneasy feeling welled up in his stomach, and it wouldn’t go away.

A million thoughts ran through his mind at once. _Where’s that damned blanket? What about a pillow, he needs a pillow too, right? And… oh, god, conversation. What are we supposed to talk about? Gaming? It’s been two years; does he even remember the games we used to play?_

Uneasiness and excitement whirled around within him and it made him feel sick. He wanted to feel happy, and for the most part he did, but the years of social isolation really had taken their toll on him. With anyone else he might’ve been okay, but this was his best friend. His best friend he hadn’t seen in two years. His best friend who he thought was dead but was somehow now magically alive again.

Just as his mind started to grow hazy from the spinning questions, he fished out the old blanket from the depths of his closet. Sighing, he tossed it onto the futon.

“Here ya go, sorry that took so long, that thing was really buried.”

“It’s alright, thank you,” Haruka looked down at his small bed, and back to him, “So, I see you haven’t redecorated at all, huh?”

“Uh… wha,” He blinked, confused.

“Um… your room, I mean. Like, it’s the same as your old bedroom mostly, at least as far as I remember.”

“Oh, uh, yeah…”

The conversation died awkwardly at that point. Shintaro internally berated himself for his poor social skills as he tried to think of what else he could talk about. But, really, what else _could_ he say? His mind was too jumbled to focus on anything in particular long enough to hold a conversation. Rather, he just gazed around his room emptily, hoping that maybe he could find something of interest, or, even better, Haruka would find something to talk about instead.

Same gray wallpaper, same worn out desk, with a thin layer of dust. Same computer setup, same messy bed, with sheets that really should be swapped out. There really was nothing in particular worthy of conversation that he could see. He continued to scan over items numbly; his old bag, a shirt on the floor he forgot to pick up, his slippers, Tono’s cage, his headset on his desk, an old book—

Wait. Tono’s cage.

Tono.

Shintaro’s train of thought immediately sparked back up the second he realized Tono hadn’t eaten in at least two days. He shot up and rushed over to her, opening the cage door.

“S-Shintaro? Is something wrong—“ Haruka began to ask, but stopped himself with a gasp and stood, “Tono!”

He rushed over to her cage as well, and the other panicked as he grabbed Tono’s food bowl and water bottle. Luckily, she didn’t seem to be doing too bad, but she did look a bit sad when she first looked out at the two boys.

“I’ll be right back I have to get her food and water,” Shintaro spoke quickly as he rushed out of the room.

“Alright…!”

He barely heard his friend as he ran down the corridor, already halfway down the hall by the time he called out. Bringing the bowl to the sink, he rinsed and scrubbed it with more vigor than he’d been able to muster washing his own food dishes. The water was scalding, but he barely felt it, and next thing he knew he was grabbing the bag of rabbit food on the counter and dumping it in. Immediately after, he washed the water bottle and let the cold water run, filling it up.

Footsteps beating against the carpet, he didn’t even remember turning the water off or running down the hall, all he knew was that he was standing in the doorway already. Stopping to catch his breath, he absent-mindedly looked into his room at his companions.

All was silent save for the sound of soft giggles, a sound he couldn’t recall hearing in what seemed like a lifetime. The form sitting on his knees with a smaller creature in his arms, held up by his shoulder, didn’t seem to notice him there in the doorway. The rabbit wiggled its nose, and squinted as it was scratched between its ears. It all happened slowly and calmly, and for a moment, Shintaro was brought back to his high school days.

Memories long buried were welcomed back. His friend visiting him for the first time after school, and the look of excitement and wonder on his face, asking if he could hold the little animal. The gentle laughter as the bunny curiously sniffed at him, and the extra care taken to make sure he held her just right and didn’t scare her too much.

_Oh, she seems to like you._

_You think so?_

_Yeah, definitely._

Shintaro blinked, and smiled. Everything up to that point felt anxious, but now he felt calmer at the sight of the two. Tono definitely seemed happier than she had been in a while, and really, he had to say he felt the same way.

Walking in casually, he padded over to the cage and reinstalled her bottle and slid the bowl into the enclosure. He turned to his friend.

“Looks like she still remembers you, huh?”

Haruka nodded, continuing to stroke her back.

“Man, you used to play with her like, every time you came over.”

“Hehe, yeah. She’s so soft,” he cooed.

“Yeah, bunnies tend to be like that. Anyway, uh, sorry to interrupt your reunion, but she should probably eat and drink, y’know?”

“Ah, yeah you’re right.”

After a few more pets, he let Tono down into her enclosure. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, before turning to her bottle and beginning to drink.

“I really have to clean out her bedding and stuff too though so uh, in the meantime I… supposed you don’t have pajamas, do you?”

He shook his head.

“Thought so. You can just look in my closet for an old t-shirt or something to wear to bed tonight. Guess I know what we’re doing tomorrow,” He closed his eyes and thought with displeasure about revisiting the shopping mall to buy clothes.

Haruka fidgeted with his hands, glancing between his friend and the closet. However, the latter was already to work cleaning out his pet’s living space, so he proceeded to look for sleepwear. Shintaro left the room multiple times for trash bags, new bedding, and cleaning supplies, and again to put everything in away, so it was in those moments that Haruka attempted to change into the borrowed clothing.

Finally, Shintaro gave Tono one final pet before closing her door and letting her to herself. Rising and turning around to his bed, he blinked at the boy in front of him. It didn’t take long for him to realize his blunder upon seeing how small his clothes were on his considerably taller friend. The other swore it was alright though, it was hot anyway, being summer and all, and that he didn’t need to be completely covered anyway. Still, he felt bad for not thinking about that sooner.

Once again their conversation was quick to die down, followed by gentle silence. Unlike before, however, Shintaro didn’t feel uneased by it. Rather, he felt much more comfortable now, and the quiet hung more like a comfortable blanket atop them, leading them towards drowsiness.

 

\-------------------------------------------------------

 

Finally, the two had come to the agreement that it was definitely time for bed. It had been an extremely long day—or, longer than that, really— for both of them, and weariness was all they were physically capable of feeling at that point. Besides, the chirping crickets outside were enough to soothe them both, and the summer night’s temperature was just right for comfortable slumber. Shuffling quietly towards the futon, Haruka paused a moment, while Shintaro sat down on his own bed.

“…Something wrong?” Shintaro asked.

There was a moment of silence before he replied, speaking slowly, “Mm… no, just… Shintaro?”

“Hm?”

“Uh, this might be a weird question,”

“What is it?”

“Um… could I, uh… hug you?”

Another pause.

“Y-Yeah, ‘course dude.”

He was grateful there was no further questioning, since if he was being honest, he just needed it. And if Shintaro was being honest, he just needed it too; and so, there was no hesitation as the two wrapped their arms around one another.

Neither was sure how long was too long, nor how tight was too tight, but they didn’t pay attention to it much. They remained there for a while, standing in the middle of the bedroom, faces buried into each other’s shoulders. Locked in nostalgic warmth, through embrace alone they were able to tell one another, _it’s okay, you don’t have to be scared anymore, I’m here now._

When they finally broke, it felt too soon. Still, there remained a tinge of awkwardness about it, so nothing more was said on the matter. _Goodnight_ s and _sleep tight_ s were exchanged while they crawled into their mattresses and turned the lights off, settling down at last to sleep.

It came fast and easy to them both, feeling the final pangs of fatigue washing over them the second they laid their heads, and in no time at all the two boys were wrapped up in the soundest sleep had in many, many years.

Drifting off, the last things heard were soft breaths, the quiet whirring of computer fans, and the bugs singing in the bushes outside; signs of life welcoming back friends long-awaited.


End file.
